Korra's Comet
by ayziks
Summary: A story of the return of Sozin's Comet when Korra is 47 years old. It's a time of worldwide celebration of the Comet's passing in a World at peace for the first time in three centuries. But there is something horribly wrong with this close encounter that could impact the entire World, and Korra must find a way to solve the problem. Korra characters property of Nickelodeon.


**Title: **"Korra's Comet"  
**Author:** A6  
**Rating:** T – Makorra, intense bending action, world crisis  
**Summary:** A story of the return of Sozin's Comet when Korra is 47 years old. It's a time of worldwide celebration of the Comet's passing in a World at peace for the first time in three centuries. But there is something horribly wrong with this close encounter that could impact the entire World, and Korra must find a way to solve the problem.  
**Author's Notes: **The inspiration from this story came from Kataang Forever Forum friend teatimeallthetime's great discussion and from support by other KF friends nukilik and aG3, who encouraged me to write it.

...

Deep in the outer reaches of its hundred year orbit around the sun of the World of the Avatar, a large meteor impacted the celestial object known as Sozin's Comet, and raised a brief flash and fountain of debris. It was just a gentle nudge to the huge comet, but it was enough.

...

This time there was no fear with the return of The Comet. It had been three hundred years since that could be said.

It wasn't called Sozin's Comet anymore either. The United Republic of Nations Council and the leaders of the Four Nations made sure that the millennia-old name 'The Comet' was restored by legislation and decree a dozen years before. Gone forever was the horror of World domination by one Nation, and they wanted no reminder of that to remain. Especially in deference to the Air Nation and its thousands of Air Acolytes, who would nonetheless remember the tragedy no matter what the comet was called.

With only a few months to go before the return of the Comet, long planned celebrations were gearing up in earnest across Korra's World. A special commemorative logo had been designed for the occasion. It appeared on banners on thousands of buildings with the colors of all the Four Nations, on special celebratory flags, and on people's clothing.

At each of the World's religious temples and shrines, solemn religious services were planned in honor of the long dead Air Nomads, who spawned the savior of their world - Avatar Aang - who himself brought lasting peace that continued through his revered successor Avatar Korra.

The relatively new science of astronomy roughly predicted the path of the comet, and people were buying or renting land along the path, from which they and their families would watch the spectacle that most would only witness once in their lifetimes.

The Fire Nation had spent the past five years planning a major bending competition, dubbed "The Centennial Comet Fire Games". Among other things, the main events featured the biggest flame, the longest lasting flame, the brightest and hottest flame, and coordinated flaming 'gymnastics' by teams of contestants. Very controlled, friendly, competitive Agni Kai's would be performed as well. The other bending disciplines were included in the competition in the spirit of world unity. Several members of the Air Family would be attending and demonstrating their mastery of air bending.

If it involved fire in the coming months of the celebration of the Comet, someone somewhere was going to make a yuan from it.

Comet food specialties were everywhere. Sales of spicy food, especially of Fire Nation dishes, were the rage. The world's fire flake companies had to add capacity to meet demand. Every child in the world had to get the 'retro' Gaang figure toys inserted in every kids meal box of Komodo Chicken Nuggets. Shortages of Appa figurines were causing angry parents to yell at store managers. All the cooking competition shows on television featured Comet or fire themes. People were truly enjoying all the fun of the returning Comet.

Modern science had provided the ultimate irony of the Comet, and how it enhanced fire bending in its fiery brush against the atmosphere of the planet. Every primary school student now knew that a comet was a giant metal, rock, and ice ball, so in the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes, the Comet generated all sorts of activities in the lands where earth and water benders dwelt. Only the Air Nation continued to regard the Comet's transit as a somber occasion, but they were grateful for the honor and remembrance the rest of the World directed toward them.

The return of the Comet was truly, at its roots, a celebration of unity of the whole world, not just a celebration of fire. The World had learned.

Just prior to the Comet's arrival would be a huge special ceremony of friendship and fellowship, at the base of Aang's Memorial, headlined by Korra, the Republic City Council, and the leaders of the Four Nations. A special homage to the Air Nomads would be conducted with the Air Family by the Fire Lord herself and General Iroh II – direct descendants of Fire Lord Zuko, who with Aang, put an end to the century long carnage. It would be broadcast worldwide on radio and TV. Long retired Shiro Shinobi, the respected radio and TV anchor man for decades, was called out of retirement to preside over the ceremony. Everyone predicted no dry eyes in this moving expression of peace and harmony by the descendents of those who started the battle and had achieved its peaceful end.

It was all going according to plan for a number of years, organized and underwritten by Future Industries CEO Asami Sato, who was admired as much for her philanthropic outreach as for her honest business acumen and quality products.

But not everyone was celebrating.

...

"Gahh!" screamed Korra as she startled awake and sat bolt upright in her bed. She was drenched in sweat.

"Korra? Are you all right? Was it the dream again?" Mako turned and asked, jolted awake by her scream. He reached to soothe her. She was still visibly shaking.

"Mako, it was, and it's no dream. It's a nightmare."

She settled down, and nestled in Mako's calming arms. He dried her tears, grabbed a towel he'd been keeping near to their bed, and wiped her face and arms. This was not the first nightmare Mako had to calm...

"It's OK, Mako, I can do that. But thank you," and she promptly evaporated her sweat.

He kissed her forehead and whispered, "I'm just worried about you. Same as before?"

She answered despondently, "Same as before. I'm standing on the caldera rim above the Fire Nation capital. I can see the Comet approach. The skies are deep red. I can feel my fire bending power within me well up. There is great celebration in the Nation. Fireworks and great demonstrations of fire bending abound, just like they are planned."

She explained further, "But the comet doesn't seem 'right'. It's supposed to skip along the skies above us, and fly on. Rather than trace an arc across the sky gracefully, it keeps getting bigger and bigger. Too late, I realize it is going to crash right into the capital crater. It hits, obliterates the capital and its people in a white hot flash, and the shock wave and flaming debris engulfs me...and...and then I wake up..."

They stared silently at each other. Again. For the seventh time.

Mako asked seriously, "Are you seeing another vision, Korra?"

"I know I am, Mako. I've tried to meditate further, but I'm not coming up with any answers. I can't reach Aang."

"Are you fretting too much to reach him? I know after all these years, it's still hard for you to get the 'spirit part' right, especially when you are upset."

"'Just too darn strong-willed', as a certain air bender used to put it," they laughed bitter sweetly at a good memory of her old mentor.

"Are you relaxed Korra? Have you really let go of the worry before reaching Aang?"

Korra scoffed, "You sound just like Tenzin. Have you been channeling his spirit?"

Mako chuckled, and smirked, "No, but I have picked up a few things about Avatars in almost thirty years of marriage with you. Plus, I know a way to _totally _relax you."

She got a dreamy look in her eyes, "Oh, yeah. _That _way."

While she prepared herself, Mako drew a warm bath for her, poured in some bubble solution, and ringed the tub with candles and incense.

She dropped her robe in front of him, smiled, and eased into the tub. Even after three kids and being in her late forties, Mako thought she was still gorgeous.

She praised her husband's thoughtfulness, "Ahh, perfect, Mako. Nice to have a fire bender around the house. Always plenty of soothing warm water."

She eased into the steaming water, and leaned back. From behind, Mako rubbed Korra's shoulders, neck, and temples. She finally started to forget everything.

A white flash enveloped her. She was walking alone in a featureless white world.

A familiar orange, saffron, and tan-robed figure approached.

She bowed, "Aang, it's so good to see you. We're kind of in big trouble here."

Aang bowed back, "Yes, I kept trying. I knew you'd get through eventually. I know this has always been hard for you. Your life mate is a good man; he helped you find the way. Katara always helped me. And yeah, this is a really big problem."

Korra was amused standing with her predecessor; they both appeared to be the same age now – mid to late forties. She wondered how she got that old.

Aang cautioned, "So you understand the severity of what's happening?"

She nodded in agreement, "Completely. My worries were what were blocking me from getting to you sooner."

Korra asked seriously, "So what is different, Aang? Why is the Comet going to hit us this time, after millennia of close - but safe - passages?"

Aang answered, "A random meteor hit the Comet fifty years ago, and altered its orbit, just enough to make it hit this time. It's worse than the dream is telling you, Korra. The impact will create many deep cracks in the earth. The Fire Nation will be eliminated – it will become a volcanic ridge line. The debris from the comet's impact, volcanic ash, and toxic gases will create a cloud over the planet. Tsunamis will flood the western coasts of the Earth Kingdom, including Republic City, all the way south to Kyoshi Island. There won't be a day of sun over the Four Nations for a year. Temperatures will plunge. Crops and animals will die. Millions will starve. We spirits could do nothing but contact you. You, Korra can do something."

Korra paled and shook her head, "This is far worse than anything Sozin ever imagined. Ironically, it will mostly destroy his Nation, but affect us all."

She thought it through further, "How do I tell everyone, Aang? How do I keep from panicking the World?"

"There will be panic, Korra. It will be inevitable. But you can manage it. I know that. You will figure it out, Korra. Be what you always are – confident under extreme pressure. There is some time. You have a month. You can get everyone off the Fire Nation islands, and away from the Earth Kingdom western coasts and islands, so they won't be drowned in tsunamis."

"Thank you, Aang. I always have you for help. I may be in my forties but there is still so much to learn."

Aang praised her, "No one in all of Avatar history has had to face this Korra. You are handling it well."

The brilliant white world in which she and Aang chatted then vanished, and she was back in her comfortable tub, with Mako still massaging her shoulders. It was heavenly. As much as she knew every moment counted to saving her people, some moments were more important than others.

She asked tenderly, "Mako?"

"Yes, Korra. I am here. Good to have you back," he smiled.

She had the look of confidence, "I know what to do now. You've worked hard to relax me long enough."

She held out soapy bubble-covered arms, and smiled invitingly, "Come join me."

He teased back, "I thought you'd never ask!"

...

She was ready. She'd already personally told all four leaders of the Nations and the Republic City Council. They were prepared to keep order with the populace in the face of any panics. The authorities were already organizing to move people from areas in danger from the damage from the Comet. She fidgeted in front of the radio and TV microphones. This was far harder than the first time she held press conference years ago. She was going to have to tell millions of people that the Comet's return was not a time to celebrate its coming, but instead that the Comet might put an end to the entire World all by itself.

"My fellow citizens, it's Korra. I have something important to tell you. Over the centuries the people of the Four Nations have faced many dangers that threatened our World, and the Avatars have been there to help solve those dangers. You and I have faced a couple crises together already."

"In a month, we'd planned to celebrate the return of the Comet in a World at peace with itself. Unfortunately, we will have to delay that celebration for some time."

"Instead, we face a grave danger, presented by the Comet itself. We know now that the Comet will cause widespread damage this time, especially to the Fire Nation, and it may damage other parts of the World as well."

"To those who may think the spirits may have caused this, I can assure you personally, from my recent spirit visit with Avatar Aang, that this was by chance and not by design. My predecessors have pledged their strength and help in finding a way to minimize any problems the Comet may cause."

"Your World leaders and I are working to prevent this from happening. Everyone will be advised at what to do and when."

She leaned into the microphone, and spoke like the three-time mother she was talking to her children, "You all know I am the spirit of this World in human form. I love the World as I love all of you. Because I _am _the World. I will do everything I can to protect you. This is Korra, your Avatar, signing off."

Encouraged by Korra's motivating and assuring talk, and due to the grace of the spirits and her past lives, people knew there was time. There were minor panics and crime, but it was minimal. The World mobilized to minimize the effects of the pending disaster.

At the same time, the brainpower of the World rallied to find a solution to the Comet's threat.

Astronomers trained their telescopes skyward to find its position. The military then redirected their early radars toward the Comet to track its course, to find and analyze the possible damage it could cause and find ways to mitigate it. They wanted to learn as much as they could for Korra in the shortest time. This was the first time the Comet had ever been studied so thoroughly. Across the centuries, the comet came and went on its own, grazing the atmosphere, imparting incredible energy to the fire benders for a few days as it approached, peaking as it streaked through the atmosphere, then benignly returned to space. People experienced the Comet, some bore the consequences of it, but no one ever scrutinized it.

But they found it, and it confirmed what the vision showed her, and what Aang told her. It was nearly a mile across, and in less than a month, it would impact the Fire Nation near the capital at an unbelievable speed of 4000 miles per hour. There was no defense that the military or scientists could provide. The few rockets that existed hardly grazed the edge of space. While planned for, the Four Nations had yet to put a single satellite into orbit, much less a warhead to blow up the Comet.

But they could save people. Iroh II organized a flotilla of military and commercial vessels and thousands were taken to refugee facilities or taken in by friends, relatives, or friendly strangers. Asami loaned all the airliners that her company had built to get people off the doomed Fire Nation islands. Expert earth benders erected a huge sea wall closing the mouth of Yue Bay, to keep the tsunami resulting from the comet's impact from harming Republic City and its inhabitants. Its height made the walls of Ba Sing Se look like a speed bump.

As the cities and towns emptied, security patrolled and controlled them. It was extraordinary how orderly it was, and it was because the people had hope in Avatar Korra. No one believed that the human spirit of the World itself would let it all end.

The United Republic of Nations were burgeoning with Fire Nation refugees, and on a daily basis, Korra was informed of the stories of charity and support across the Nations of the World. The World was becoming united in a way that contests and competitions, merchandise, and fancy ceremonies never could.

Harvests were gathered early. Hunts and fishing parties were organized to gather meat that was salted and dried. Canning plants worked over time to create a supply of food that would feed the World through the famine and darkness ahead.

Most of all, everyone looked to Korra for guidance, and she went anywhere and everywhere to assure the populace. She had seen the horrible vision. While everyone worked to survive the coming planetary holocaust, she never stopped thinking about preventing the huge object from hitting the Fire Nation.

On the fringe, there were those in the society that felt that any attempt to intervene against the comet to save the Fire Nation was blasphemy against the beliefs taught by the Fire Sages. Some fire benders believed and accepted that the Comet impact on their lands would be the judgment against their Nation for the transgression of genocide wrought by their former leaders.

There were still others that felt it was fair retribution for the century of pain and genocide inflicted against the original Air Nomads for the comet to turn its wrath on the Fire Nation itself.

But fortunately those people were few in number, and Korra negotiated with them personally. She continued successfully to provide a vision of hope and recovery that that nearly everyone else embraced.

Night after night, she looked in the Air Temple Library for some kind of solution. She studied Katara's old War Journals. She'd heard about Sokka's legendary sword, made from the metals of a much smaller meteor that had plunged to earth when Sokka was taught by Sword Master Piandao.

And then she found the proof. It was a passage that described how Sokka saved a piece of raw meteor as a special gift for Toph. It dawned on Korra, _"Toph could bend 'space earth'. Katara was absolutely right. Earth is earth no matter where it is located. We can bend the Comet back to its original path, or a path never to return again."_

She told Mako and they hugged. She quickly made calls to the Science Advisory team helping her. They all concurred it was possible. This was the breakthrough they needed. Then she called the World leaders. They all agreed. She needed to get on the radio and TV again. She hurried back to the radio/TV station to broadcast an unprecedented call for help.

She cleared her throat, "Korra here, again, everyone. First, I want to praise everyone for their support and all the help for the people who will be most affected by the Comet. No matter what happens, we will come through this. You all know that my duty as Avatar is always to the World. That includes the safety of the World. Even from things outside the World."

She took a very deep breath and continued, "I have discovered that the Comet can be put back to its original path, but I need your help to do this. I call upon the Masters of the World in earth, metal, and water bending to join with me at the Fire Nation Capital. We can bend the Comet back into orbit. It's only made of 'space earth', metal, and water ice. Former Chief of Police Toph Beifong herself bent 'space earth' long ago as a girl. There is one caution. If we fail, we will all die first. But we will die trying to save the world. Please prayerfully consider my request, and come to the Fire Nation capital in three days. If you need help getting there, contact your local authorities. Good bye for now, and may the spirits bless our work together."

...

A few days before the Comet's arrival, Korra stood in a tent city adjacent to the evacuated Fire Nation Capital amidst hundreds of water, earth and metal benders. How interesting that fire bending would do nothing to help solve this problem.

From a platform she called out to everyone over the public address, "I am humbled that you have made the sacrifice to serve to fight this terrible danger. And if it comes to that, it will be a good day to die with all of you."

A chant erupted, "Kor-ra! Kor-ra! Kor-ra!"

She was deeply moved by the response to her call to serve, seeing the expanse of benders who would try, and maybe die with her, to save the planet.

White Lotus guardsmen and United Republic forces briefed the thousands and how they should line up to try to bend the giant Comet away from the impact zone.

The night before the Comet arrived, she called Mako and the kids on the phone. They had a huge quarrel a few days before, when she ordered Mako to leave with the children, but he knew the family must survive, no matter the state of the World after the Comet arrived. They were at Southern Water Tribe at her aged parents' home.

She spoke haltingly, "You and the kids OK?"

Mako was very sad, but tried to sound upbeat, "We are all fine. Of all the societies in the world, the tribe may survive better than any other Nation. It's always permanently winter here."

They laughed nervously, knowing full well what was probably inevitable.

She tried in vain to assure him, "See, I told you this would be cinch!"

Silence fell between them, until Mako choked out the words, "Korra, I...I can't say good-b-"

It was all she could do to speak, "Then don't. Just say that you love me."

"I love you, Korra," Mako choked out the words, perhaps his last, to his lifetime love.

"I love you too. I...I gotta go now," she choked out the words.

She hung up the phone, and didn't stop crying for over an hour.

...

Oddly enough, the Comet would arrive at midnight, but its arrival would turn night into an artificially blood-red day for awhile. Korra smirked at the coincidence that the moon shown full this night of all nights. It was a blue moon, besides - a special miracle. It would enhance all the water benders' power pushing against the ice within the Comet. Only daylight lessened a water bender's power. The Comet's red glow raging through the atmosphere was not daylight.

"Thank you, Yue. You have blessed all of us, your humble kinsmen," Korra whispered skyward.

If they were unsuccessful, Korra thought sadly, that this was the last time anyone would see the moon for over a year, obscured by an unrelenting stratospheric debris cloud. But it appeared that the spirits were doing everything they could to help. She turned and could vaguely see the water benders spirits' buoyed by seeing the full moon.

...

It was time. The fate of the World rested on her and a few hundred brave benders. A pink glow appeared from the eastern horizon. She could feel the power surge within her. It was too bad she wouldn't need that bending skill, except to raise her up to meet the Comet head on first. She had to. She had to inspire the others, even if it meant dying first. That part of the plan had caused the biggest disagreement with Mako.

She sat in her meditative position, and summoned the Avatar state. Her eyes flashed, and the four elements surrounded her as they had many times before. The enhanced water and fire bending gave her some extra confidence, against an uncaring foe bigger and faster than anything she or any of her predecessors had ever faced.

She sensed her fellow benders were poised to help, encouraged by Korra in the Avatar State, something most of them had never seen.

She soared upward swiftly, following a direct intercept path with the Comet. That was the sign for the benders to start. She could already feel its heat of passage, even in the outer edges of the atmosphere. She hoped the water spinning around her would protect her from being consumed, and realized that her fire bending would be needed to protect her by deflecting the comet's searing wake through the atmosphere.

The Comet was enormous, even bigger than she thought, jagged and gray, but starting to glow red hot, with the fiery sheath of the earth's atmosphere enveloping it. For a moment she was intimidated, and worried if she could stay with it on its terminal approach to the Fire Nation. It was so fast. Then, buoyed by the power of a thousand Avatars behind her, she thrust out to it in combined water, and metal, and earth bending. She could feel the huge mass of the Comet push back against her.

It seemed like throwing a snow ball at a glacier hoping to make it turn. But then her power increased more, and she felt the collective power of the benders thousands of feet below her that added to her Avatar state bending power.

She exclaimed, "It's yielding!" but no one could hear her.

The heat was starting to become unbearable, and she began to see her belt of water start to steam. When it was gone, there would be no protection. She was distracted by having to use fire bending to deflect flares away from her. It was as if the Comet was alive, but she began to get used to a rhythm as it went. She had only seconds before it struck the capital.

The Comet kept yielding to all the bending, and its trajectory began to turn. But it wouldn't be enough. A thought not her own implanted itself in her head. _"Air bending,"_said a gentle male voice.

_"Of course,"_she realized.

While bending all the other elements together against the Comet, she a created a mile wide vortex in front of the Comet's flight path, that extended thousands of yards in front of the Comet, following a path parallel to the ground that the Comet should have taken all along. Korra caused the vortex to spin faster and faster in front of the Comet. The noise from the supersonic air flow in the vortex was deafening and caused sonic booms, but had great power. It was a near vacuum in the center.

The comet was literally sucked into the vortex while being bent. The vortex deflected the Comet more, and it stopped descending. She heard a cheer from the people below and they redoubled their bending efforts to flatten its path through the sky. The very low air pressure in the vortex also partially quenched the Comet's fire, which was good, as her ring of water had completely evaporated. She would have been incinerated.

When it was clear that the Comet was flying its normal grazing path across the sky, every bender stopped. Korra remained hovering in mid air, but watched the Comet safely pass, and darkness returned to the skies above the Fire Nation Capital.

She descended and alighted on the platform, and her Avatar state subsided. She took the microphone, and announced, "Thank you. Thank you all. We did it!"

Cheers erupted from the hundreds of benders gathered together.

But Korra started to gray out, and collapsed on the stage. A dozen White Lotus jumped to attend her.

...

Sitting in front of their TVs across the planet, like hundreds of millions of other citizens, each member of the Krew watched the Comet fade harmlessly away back into space. Some, perilously, a few hundred miles from ground zero, others a half a planet away.

Asami and Bolin and their kids jumped from their couch in the deep underground chamber of the blast-reinforced Sato Family Mansion, ran out to the front entrance, and looked far to the west to catch the last glimmer of the red hue of the Comet. They hugged and kissed in relief.

At the Southern Air Temple, the Air Family was collected in front of the TV in the Temple's study, started to breathe again, and embraced in grateful relief. They knew it had been Grandfather Aang who had shown Korra the world could be saved, and they felt that Father Tenzin would have been so proud of his student.

At the Southern Water Tribe community center, all the tribal eyes watching the great miracle occur on TV turned to Mako and his family seated among them, and remained silent. Mako, their children, and elderly parents watched her faint, gasped, and - by reflex - reached to touch her image on the monitor, but knew in their hearts that she'd be OK. Each family member clutched one another and let the tears fall. She was safe and the ordeal was over. The tribesmen around them cheered.

Mako announced proudly, "We're going home, now, kids. Pack your things."

His oldest smirked, "'Way ahead of you Dad. We're packed and everything is on the seaplane."

...

It didn't take long for her to recover, but the most joyous time was Korra's reunion with Mako and her family a day later. Mako couldn't bound up the stairs fast enough from the seaplane moored at the Air Temple pier with their teens-to-twenties family of water and fire benders running right behind their father.

In their signature homecoming greeting from the day she became the Avatar and admitted their love, Mako grabbed Korra and twirled her around, kissed her hard, and the kids joined in a happy, tearful group hug.

The Air Family and the Air Acolytes on Air Temple Island returned shortly thereafter from their safety in the mountainous heights of the restored Southern Air Temple. Asami and Bolin arrived at the island in their yacht to join them. The Krew and extended families dined joyously that night - together in celebration. During dinner, Korra described the entire encounter with the Comet.

On a prompt from Mako, Master Jinora stood and gave grateful appreciation to Korra, "I speak for all of us here. Thank you Korra, for never giving up on finding a way to prevent a disaster, not just helping us survive it. You harnessed the power of all bending to save the entire World from the Comet. Not just one race was saved, but every race. Truly, Korra, you showed us how we are all one people, as my grandfather believed."

Everyone cheered, then throughout the evening hugged and congratulated Korra. The party lasted far into the night. Mako smiled and reveled in the adoration of his sweet wife.

When at last all the food and drink had been consumed, and everyone had gone to bed, in the wee hours of the morning, Mako and Korra stood hand in hand, looking out over the balcony and the bay where the slightly past full moon shone down on them.

"Mako?' she asked quietly.

"Yes, Korra."

"Um, are you awake enough to make one of those bubble baths for me?"

Mako smiled, "Coming right up, my dear. I don't need the Comet's power to warm it up for you."

"For _two_, City Boy..."

...

The gratitude toward Korra continued non-stop for the next few weeks, as the displaced refugees returned to their homes along the coast and Fire Nation. When finally everyone was safely returned to their homes, it took no spark at all to start the original celebrations of the Comet's return. They were a month late, with none of the Comet-induced fire bending enhancement, but it was still a joyful worldwide fellowship of unity. The leaders and people honored Korra for saving the World and everyone in it in many ways, but in one special way in particular.

In every century that followed across the millennia, each time the ice and rock micro-world made its brief but fiery transit across the skies of the World, the people looked upward with awe, and recalled fondly the story of 'Korra's Comet'.


End file.
